Recreational Cannabis Experience

Recently I experienced my first legal recreational cannabis purchase. I know, I know. I’m late to the game from an advocate perspective, but I’ve never felt the need to make a special trip. Born and raised on the east coast, I was interested to see what we could soon expect. Let me tell you the sky does not fall and there isn’t a low lying cloud of cannabis smoke everywhere.

I was ecstatic to finally be able to see cannabis out in the open. Finally, I found my cannabis zen. What I experienced was eye-opening. It was not a seedy experience. I did not fear for my life. Kids weren’t outside looking to score some pot. I was actually able to see the product, before I made my purchase. There were no crazy made up medical sounding names to confuse me. I was able to choose products to consume in every imaginable way: smoking, vaping, edibles, drinks, tinctures, capsules etc. I mean, come on, there was even sensual oils to heighten the experience. Too bad this was a family vacation…

Recently, Massachusetts district attorneys asked state marijuana regulators on Friday (2/9/2018) to hold off on licensing certain types of businesses, including so-called cannabis cafes and home delivery services, echoing a similar appeal by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

But why??? Cannabis should be regulated, but not constricted like local governments are trying to do. This is a classic example of government thinking everyone is too dumb to do anything correctly. News flash to any legislator, increased tax rates on legal recreational sales will keep a black-market thriving. Recently, legislators have been acting like they lack experience in civics.

They state, “We have security concerns for these businesses, their employees and their customers.” This sounds like a weak excuse, but I’ll ask, where are the statistics used to derive this outcome? This claim has been heard before, but it hasn’t happened to date yet. Honestly, I did not see a single police presence at any of the seven retail dispensaries I visited on my vacation.

People on the West Coast do not fear cannabis. They don’t believe cannabis is going to make you stupid, lazy etc. They understand it’s not morally just to make prejudicial claims, but more importantly, they understand consuming cannabis doesn’t make you a bad person. Just because prohibition is legal, doesn’t make it right.

We should want to protect our society, not limit our ability to grow. If I want to drink a cannabis infused drink, as an adult, I should be able too just like I’m able to crack open a cold beer.

Take a look below, at just some of the goodies I was able to checkout. Soon this can be us.